Chapter Six: Troubled Eyes

The car door slammed before the driver could get out of his seat to open it, making the poor aging old man turn several shades of worried red. However the young man that had stepped out of the vehicle did not seem to notice. Instead he was looking upwards towards the house where the car had parked.

The black iron gates had been flung open at the approach of the black BMW, and going up the cobble stone driveway to the pillar framed entrance revealed that the giant double doors of the estate had been opened. A small shivering form stood there, biting her lip against the freezing cold seeping in past the doorway.

It didn't matter though that the door was open, because the cold of the weakening winter had managed to sneak into the giant house, chilling it to it's inner most core and it seemed nothing she did would change the fact. The servants had left, father was gone on a business trip and as a result the stillness itself seemed the only companion for the cold.

Neji cleared his throat slightly as he walked up the steps, examining the tiny creature before him with careful Hyuuga eyes. She was thinner than he remembered, and there were circles under eyes that betrayed the fact she had not been sleeping well. She had tried to hide it with make up, the smears of colored paste oddly bright against her dull flesh.

"Hi, Neji-nii-san." Hanabi whispered, pushing a lock of dark hair from her face slowly.

Neji bit his lip, straining not to choke on the surprised knot that had jumped to his throat at the sight of the expression in her eyes.

"Hi, Hanabi-chan." He whispered softly, putting a hand on her head the way he used to when she was younger. It didn't seem right that she felt just as frail as back then.

Hinata would have to answer for this.


"Where's Sakura?" Ino muttered, stirring her tea. The blue eyed blonde beauty turned her head rapidly, this way then that way, scanning the crowded noisy cafeteria carefully.

"I don't know. Maybe it's a good thing she's not here today though." Tenten sighed deeply. "I was starting to get so miserably 'tired' of hearing about Sasuke."

"Heh, we're going to get miserably tired of hearing about Neji, aren't we Hinata?" Ino smirked, elbowing the smaller girl beside her cheekily a few times.

Hinata jumped, looking up from the textbook she had been pouring over feverishly. Disoriented she nodded, then stopped at the look of surprise on Tenten's face. "G-gomen, I wasn't listening, w-what did I j-just nod to-?"

Ino however cut her off in a fit of laughter, giggling despite Tenten's irritated glare. "Nothing, Hinata-chan." Tenten muttered irritably. "Go back to your homework."

"No, wait a minute. When's Neji getting here anyway?" Ino finally managed to enquire after controlling her loud laughter. "Tenten here wants to know, after all."

"Ino!" Tenten growled, kicking her rather rudely under the table.

"OW!!" Ino cried, rubbing her shin, pouting miserably, but still looking expectantly at the bewildered slightly puzzled Hinata.

"A-ano… he should be arriving right now. H-hanabi-chan stayed home so there would b-be someone at the house." Hinata explained absently, turning back to her textbook with deliberate fervor.

She was falling behind. Despite all appearances of calm in the classroom and the fact that her teachers were all being very nice to her about it, she was still falling behind. The week she had had to take off for the cold-fluish thing she had caught had seriously damaged her grades. Father wouldn't be returning from his business trip for a few weeks yet, but her grades had to be impeccable by then.

Somehow the idea that she would be able to do homework at Kakashi's house had gone down the toilet. Trying to think with Sasuke dozing on the sofa across from her was very literally impossible. If she wasn't fidgeting from not wanting to wake him up, she was staring and telling herself off for admiring too long.

I wasn't 'admiring'! I was just…studying.

Studying the nearly perfect color of his skin and the most amazing pair of lips she had ever-

"Hinata?" Tenten cut in, frowning over the rim of her soup bowl. "Are you all right? You're turning very red…"

"Ano!" Hinata meeped, looking up from her poor ignored textbook in surprise. "I'm fine! I just need some fresh air is all!"

Ino, Tenten and even the aloof Temari glanced at each other with puzzled expressions as the pale Hyuuga jumped to her feet, and forgetting to grab her things scrambled out the cafeteria doors.

"What is up with her and Sakura anyway?" Temari grunted. "I know Sakura's one to fall hard for a pretty face, but she's never quite done it in such a ...bothersome manner, and Hinata's been acting a bit strange too, I just can't place my finger on it."

Tenten nodded, frowning slightly. "Listen, she didn't want me to tell you this, but at the beginning of semester, I caught her putting make up on a massive bruise on her cheek. Neji's admitted that his uncle is an ass sometimes, but I didn't think he hit her, you know?"

"Did she say he hit her?" Ino put in sharply, looking about ready to crush someone's head. "Cuz if she did, we can report him-"

"Don't be daft." Temari grunted. "Hinata wouldn't say it. Or did she?" the blonde blinked, turning back to Tenten, who shook her head. "She said she fell, but she was crying."

"That's so much bullshit. We should talk to her- I am not letting her live in that house one minute longer if she's being beat on!" Ino snapped.

Rapidly before the blonde could say anything Tenten grabbed her shirt and dragged her forward. "Shut up! If a teacher hears that we'll be forced to say what's going on and do you know what kind of betrayal that would be for Hinata? We have to be clever about this. I think she's been staying out of her house a lot and keeping busy because it saves her the trouble of spending her time at home where her father is."

"But she's never out, what are you talking about?' Temari grunted. "We haven't hung out with her outside of school in weeks."

"She's got volunteer jobs, remember?" Tenten put in softly. "A lot of them. It must be the only way her father will let her spend time outside of the house. He's a freak for perfection."

"Academic perfection." Temari corrected, earning a confused look from Ino. "What do you mean? Hinata's never mentioned anything about that-"

"She wouldn't to you two. You and Sakura have word vomit." Tenten frowned, giving her a look that wasn't at all nice. "Did you know she's taking higher level courses?"

"Well, she's smart, I wouldn't be surprised-"

"They're 'all' higher level courses. That's like a university workload." Tenten snapped, poking her on the forehead. "She's fallen behind because of the cold she caught a few weeks ago. That's why she keeps studying during lunch."

Temari and Ino's gaze drifted over to the pile of textbooks sitting beside Hinata's abandoned jacket and book bag. It was an uncertain tower of brick size work.

"Holy freakin…" Ino began.

"Exactly." Tenten sighed, leaning back, arms crossed. "I bet her dad threatened her with something too… maybe her art work. I haven't seen her draw since semester began, and she's not enrolled in any art classes at all."

"But she loves to paint." Ino frowned, looking up. "Somehow I assumed she did that at home."

"She's never home, remember?" Temari sighed, suddenly not at all hungry she pushed her soup away, slouching in her seat with her arms crossed.

"…why didn't you say something sooner?" Ino mumbled, feeling about as big as a mouse as she stared at the table. "Hinata's always there when we need her, I just… never thought that she'd need us too. She's like Wonder Woman, ya know?"

Tenten nodded, lips pressed into a thin line. "Yeah I know, I didn't say anything because she asked me not to, but…I mean, she hasn't talked to me about it since the beginning of semester and from my point of view…"

"…things are getting out of hand." Temari nodded. "Yeah."

"Maybe Neji being here is a good thing, he can help her out a little. Maybe she'll spend some more time at home." Ino pointed out, sitting up at the hope of something getting fixed.

Tenten smiled weakly. "Maybe. I'll see what I can do about that. I'll try to talk to him."

"Of course you will." Temari grunted, smirking at her friend cheekily.

Groaning at the new wave of teasing Tenten rolled her eyes, trying to put aside all worries for a moment while her two friends went on another torture rant about Neji.

Hopefully they were right…


Baka…baka…baka,baka,baka!

Her quick steps down the corridor were loud enough to echo off the floor and down the hall, bouncing ahead of her as rapidly as her thoughts were running.

You can't like him, you can't like him… Sakura likes him already and what about Naruto?

Biting her lip the little Hyuuga slowed, bumping her fingers together nervously as she stared at the ground, walking unconsciously blind.

What about Naruto? He's never… here.

Abruptly the force of her body hitting someone else's threw her off balance, drawing out a surprised "Oof!" from her lips.

Whoever had been turning the corner managed to regain their balance, a lot better than she could for in a few seconds flat she had ended up quite unhappily on her bottom.

"Ouch- oh! G-g-gomen, I was-"

"Again, I thought I was the one that was blind."

Much like the squeaky toy of before, a small inexplicable sound escaped her mouth as she looked up sharply to stare at none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

Current tormentor of her dreams.

Mental Hinata let out a silent row of surprised screams.

"G-g-gomen, Sasuke-kun, I wasn't watching where I was go-" she stopped, startled to find his hand extended down towards her, offering her help.

For a moment she just stared. His hands were huge, clean and smooth, but not in the way a spoiled boy's hands were. They looked like they had worked their share.

A few seconds before he lost patience she reached out and took his hand, startled by the warmth of his skin. Somehow she had expected him to be cold… like a reptile.

With surprising strength he hauled her up to her feet, letting go quickly. Blushing several shades of red Hinata looked down, straightening out her skirt. In that moment she missed his hand flexing rapidly by his side, the tingling sensation of her skin on his was making him grind his teeth.

"A-arigato…" she mumbled, fixing her blouse with unsteady fingers. "I-I'm c-clumsy…" she admitted, blushing harder at her useless words.

Sasuke fought off a smirk, sliding his fingers over the wall to his right to start walking again. "Hn." He commented, elaborate a comment as usual.

A bit surprised Hinata watched him walk away, words caught in her throat, but she didn't know what they were.

"Be on time after the bell rings." He added suddenly, startling a look of surprise over her face.

"H-hai!" she nodded, watching him turn another corner and vanish.

Wide eyed she turned away, biting her lip, unconsciously trying to control the smile struggling over her features.

Maybe she'd make something to eat when they got home.


"Here." Neji murmured, sliding a plate across the giant marble island in the middle of the kitchen towards his little cousin.

Hanabi looked up from her daydream to stare at a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, blinking rapidly in surprise. It was cut into four pieces with the crust cut off, just as she liked it.

Smiling weakly she straightened up, pulling the plate towards her even though she wasn't particularly hungry.

"Arigato, Nii-san."

Neji shrugged, his back already turned to her to stir the chicken soup bubbling on the stove.

His dress shirt sleeves were rolled up, the tie lying tossed over one of the kitchen stools, the white collar undone.

It was quiet in the house, eerily so. Only the sound of the wind whispering over the trees in the backyard broke the stillness. No lights were on, the reflection of the winter sun's light pouring in through the windows made the marble and tile and steel of the entire household reflect a somber blue shade of light over everything.

Including his little cousin's pale sickly face.

He did not have to be a doctor to know she had not been eating, and had not been sleeping well. But he couldn't exactly blame her. The house was like a morgue. No one wanted to eat in a morgue, let alone sleep in it.

"Where is everyone?" he finally murmured again, breaking the stillness for the second time in a row. At the university that never happened. There were people everywhere, sometimes he couldn't even stand the fact that there were so many, and with his best friend Lee to accompany him everywhere he went it was hard to have 'time' to say something. Lee was a chatter box. They suited each other well.

He had often thought he'd rather it weren't so crowded, so loud, so 'alive'. Now he knew better. This house wasn't crowded, loud or alive, and it made his skin crawl.

"What everyone?" Hanabi enquired thickly over a mouthful of peanut butter and jelly goodness. It always tasted better when someone else made something for you. Or maybe that was just her… since no one ever made anything for her anymore.

"Uncle Hiashi and Hinata-chan." Neji replied simply, carefully scooping out the soup into expensive glass bowls he had had to wash before using. There had been dust collecting in them. He'd have to have a word with the maids…

"Otou-sama is on a business trip. Hinata-nee-chan is at school… or work… or…out with friends." Hanabi mumbled the last bit, putting down the quarter of sandwich with a sigh, pushing the plate away. "…I'm not hungry."

Neji frowned slightly, putting the bowl of soup in front of her despite her words. "I didn't make the soup for it to go to waste."

"Right." Hanabi mumbled, suddenly remembering Neji's rules for cooking. If he was going to make something, it wasn't about to be thrown away. He never cooked, so they had better appreciate it when he did. A few times they had had to even swallow burnt toast, or not so soft cookies.

But it had always made her and Hinata smile.

"What do you mean she's out with friends?" He finally asked, watching her pull the soup bowl towards her, stirring it's hot contents around with utter concentration, as if the universe were hiding within the broth.

"I dunno." She mumbled, sighing again tiredly. "She's never home, I assume she's out with friends."

"When does she usually get back?" he muttered, frown deepening slightly. He crossed his arms, waiting impatiently for her reply.

Hanabi looked up from her soup, finally tearing her eyes away from it's warmth. "Is this an interrogation or something?"

Startled the young man almost blushed, but managed not to. He had gotten very good at not blushing. Tenten had been the cause of that.

"Right." He mumbled, sitting down across from her on a stool. "Gomen."

The girl shrugged her thin shoulders, going back to stirring the soup around and around. "She's very busy."

"She wasn't last time I was here. She spent all her time cooped up in her room." Neji grumbled, recalling with slight confusion a few times that he had half ordered her to do 'something' other than stay in her room.

Hinata had looked about ready to cry but had complied, sitting stiffly in the sitting room for a few hours, or going out for a walk with Hanabi.

It had been a struggle to get her to leave, but now she never came back? What had changed.

"She doesn't paint anymore that's why." Hanabi stated suddenly, as if reading his thoughts. It was as close to reading a person's thoughts as you could get. Her clever Hyuuga gaze was focused on his face, studying every frown and thought passing through his eyes.

Neji however didn't pay attention to that, but focused on her words. "She doesn't paint anymore?"

Hanabi shook her head, sipping the soup delicately off her spoon for it was hot. "No." she nodded towards the glass doors leading out into the backyard covered in melting snow. In the middle was a muddy ash strewn hole, black and brown and gross.

"That's what's left of her paintings." She whispered, biting her lip to keep the tears from pooling in her gaze.

Neji felt his stomach drop, or clench, or better yet knot like a hangman's noose. "…they burned?"

"She burned them herself." Hanabi explained calmly, proud of herself for keeping the tears from sliding down her cheeks at the memory of her sister's expression while they burned.

The mixture of pity, remorse, horror and plain furious satisfaction had been burned into Hanabi's memory forever. It was as though Hinata had died a little bit that night. She was the walking dead.

"Why?" Neji finally asked, walking slowly towards the glass door as if peeking at the remains of the paintings closer was going to give some more insight into the mystery. Hanabi shrugged again, even though he had his back to her.

"I don't know… but she had a bruise the size of a grapefruit on her face the next morning." She mumbled, sipping her soup again slowly, remembering the vague image of her sister sitting slumped at the kitchen counter with an ice pack pressed to her face at two in the morning.

"She didn't say a word to me at all."

Neji felt his heart pounding harder, each throbbing thump like a fist slamming against his chest.

"Did your father hit her?"

"I wouldn't know." Hanabi admitted, tipping the bowl back to get the last of the soup. "I wouldn't be surprised though."

"Why didn't you say any of this on the phone, Hanabi?" Neji snapped, turning around to look at her. "I could have come sooner, I could have come that very night if you had wanted-"

"What would that have changed?" Hanabi mumbled, sitting with her finished soup bowl in her hands, staring at the galaxy all gone.

"…I just…needed you to come, sometime…so it wouldn't be so cold here."

Her cousin stared, listening to her steady calm voice with a mixture of shock and agony, for though her voice was steady there were tears pouring down her face, little silver rivers trickling all the way to her chin.

She had sounded exactly like that on the phone when they had spoken.

"Oh." Hanabi whispered, reaching up to touch her face in surprise, startled to find it wet. "…this keeps happening. I think there's something wrong with my eyes."

Neji rarely had the urge to cry. But at that moment, the urge was the strongest it had ever been in his life.


"Are you hungry, S-sasuke-kun?" Hinata enquired softly, kicking off her shoes with less care than she had when she had first started to walk him home. Somehow halfway through the last week she had come to the realization that Sasuke didn't mind her cooking, for one, and that he really didn't give a damn about how she treated the house because it wasn't his house. It was Kakashi's and Kakashi didn't seem to care either, so long as she cooked.

"Hn." The boy replied lazily, dropping onto the couch as he usually did, for a few moments, but Hinata knew he would come wandering over to the kitchen as soon as the smells of whatever she was making drifted out.

"Fried tomatoes?" she enquired again, dumping her bag beside the couch, waiting patiently for him to reply. Kakashi had begun to hint at her what Sasuke's favorite food was. It was always pleasant to find that she could make something he was sure to eat. Little did she know he'd eat pretty much anything she made.

For a moment she thought she saw a small pink tongue lick the corner of his lips. Amused beyond reason at that little gesture she grinned, radiating unconsciously and all too pleased aura.

"Hn." He replied again, waiting for her to move off towards the kitchen, which she did, just as usual.

Sometime after her little episode with the cold Sasuke had begun to wait and watch. Fully expecting the girl to suddenly spout out some annoying personality trait he would want to crush her for.

He had waited… and waited; purposefully ignoring the fact that he enjoyed her lavender smell, even though she still denied it was perfume, and her cooking, which even she couldn't deny was good.

However, the moment of annoyance he had expected never came, and he was still half waiting, half given up on it. It was a though he had decided long ago not to pay attention to the fact that she was the main attraction in most of his days, and the main distraction without a doubt.

He hadn't thought of Itachi or his parents for what seemed like-

"D-do you want tea too, Sasuke-kun?"

The boy sat up suddenly, forgetting his earlier thoughts as if they were birds that had flown away. "Hai." He mumbled, struggling to his feet in the ever present darkness.

Her affirmative little humming drifted off and away, in the direction of the sizzling tomatoes she was frying. The smell of them was making his stomach growl. Kakashi had masterfully taken care of the issue of after school snacks and dinner which Hinata did as well, but he was an idiot still when it came to food in the morning.

Still, Sasuke could live this way. One good meal a day was better than the junk Kakashi ate from the cafeteria every single lunch hour.

Slowly he slid his fingers along the door frame of the kitchen, listening intently to her absent minded humming and the sound of her steps across the tiles.

Of all the girls he knew, and he knew quite a lot of them because they were always clinging to him, she was by the quietest one. Not quiet in the sense that she said nothing, which was almost true, but quiet as in she was a pleasant background noise he could actually enjoy listening to.

Unlike that pink haired monster. Hearing that Sakura's hair was in fact a bright pink had made his view of her drop a few notches below zero. Most people liked that bright suffocating personality and looks, but that just didn't work for him.

He wasn't exactly surprised by the fact that she chose such a sense of style, but rather unhappy that he was always right.

"Sasuke-kun? H-here's your tea." Hinata murmured, cutting his thoughts off halfway. Nodding the boy found his way over to the stools and slumped onto one, wrapping his hands around the warm cup quite happily. It was late winter, and soon would be spring, but it felt like winter had it's claws firmly ground into the earth and was refusing to let go. He'd never been quite as aware of the freezing weather as he was that year. The cold seemed to seep into his very marrow.

Of course, every other year of his life had been spent across the country in a slightly warmer climate.

"H-how did you g-get around without S-s-sakura-chan today?" Hinata's voice murmured suddenly, startling him from his quiet sip of tea.

Of course he didn't show the surprise, only froze halfway with his cup to his lips.

"…you know Sakura?"

Hinata blinked across from him, holding the hot pan in one gloved hand and a spatula in the other. "A-a-ano…hai. She's a friend."

Sasuke would have blinked back if he could have, or if he had been a normal person would have commented on his shock, instead he sipped his tea thoughtfully, frowning a little.

"You don't seem the type to be her friend."

Hinata blinked for the second time at him, midway through scooping out the well fried seasoned tomatoes onto a plate.

"…a-ano…Sakura-chan can be a bit…ano…strong…a-at times." She admitted slowly, carefully sliding the slices onto the plate.

"D-demo, s-she's just very p-passionate. E-everyone likes her."

The first noise that wasn't a simple affirmation but an actual show of emotion to come out of Sasuke Uchiha made her stare.

"Tch!"

Biting her lip painfully the little Hyuuga turned around, pouring hot water over the empty pan at the sink "…y-you don't like her, Sasuke-kun?"

Chiding himself for being such an ass Sasuke frowned, sipping his green tea quite delicately again. He had to remember he was talking about her friend, and though he might think Sakura was an annoying little pest Hinata obviously didn't seem to agree.

"…our personalities clash." He finally stated, a little surprised by how sugar coated he had bothered to make the comment.

Little did he know Hinata was trying not to grin too broadly as she scrubbed the pan.

"…oh… t-that's too bad. S-she talks about you all the time."

Sasuke nearly gagged. I bet.

"Hn."

For a moment he was silent, listening to the rushing water and the reassuring rhythm of her scrubbing the pan.

Abruptly he stated. "Do you talk about me all the time?"

The loud bang of the pan slipping from Hinata's fingers and hitting the sink and dishes followed by the little 'eep!' noise from the washer managed to draw something of a half smirk over his features. It was of course quickly erased before she turned around.

"A-a-ano…"

"You don't have to answer that." He put in quickly, wondering if perhaps he had managed to give the first healthy 17 year old a heart attack.

"…d-demo…ano…hai…" she mumbled, blushing furiously, turning around to scrub at the pan again, feeling all of her neck and face burning.

Why in heaven's name would he ask me something like that? Kami-sama, I nearly had a heart attack!

Unlike usual he didn't drift off into the sitting room as he usually did when Hinata began to cook dinner for Kakashi and him, and herself, though she usually didn't eat it with them, but took it home.

Instead he sat there, sipping his tea, listening.

A little unnerved again by the sudden ordeal Hinata continued to cook, her hands moving through the motions of boiling the pasta and making the sauce and frying the chicken, all t he while very much aware of the presence behind her, silent.

Perhaps an hour and a half later she glanced up towards the clock, nervously counting down the minutes for Kakashi to come back. Usually she didn't want him to, and he had taken to staying out longer and longer of late, but then, with dinner ready and nothing to do she hoped he would just arrive already…

Unable to find a single other thing to do she bit her lip and poured herself some tea, settling down across from Sasuke, staring down at the liquid nervously.

"Why are you here?"

Startled by the question the girl looked up, searching the blind boy's face fervently, upon finding there were no eyes to make her nervous there, only strips of white cloth, and a pair of beautiful lips pressed into a thin line.

"N-n-nani?" she whispered, hands clenching the tea cup tightly.

Sasuke turned his head slightly to the side, as if staring out towards something. Truth be told it was just habit to do that. Staring at someone in the face had never been his way of talking.

"Kakashi never told me how he found you."

"O-oh." Hinata mumbled, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear nervously. "…a-ano…I…it-it's sort of for a class…d-demo…I…kind of….ano, I mean…" she sighed, rubbing her face tiredly, suddenly not in the mood to have that particular conversation.

"…I forgot what it was for…" she admitted softly, looking down at the table, tracing the swirling marble patterns on the surface. "…I l-like being here…"

The words were out and ringing already before she realized they were true. She did like spending time with him, it was quieter… less strained than at home.

Everything was less strained than at home.

Sasuke paused, having begun to open his mouth to say something only to be cut off by her last sentence.

It startled him enough to leave him speechless.

Suddenly, cutting them both off the door flung open and in waltzed Kakashi, loud as a herd of elephants in the foyer.

"Tadaima! Sorry, I'm late Hinata-san, the meeting went on longer than I thought it would- wow that smells really good!" He shouted from the foyer.

Hinata didn't move, listening intently to her teacher getting closer. Clearing her throat nervously she glanced up at Sasuke, who had his face turned away still, hands loosely wrapped around his tea cup, a small puzzled frown between his brows.

"…i-it's okay, Kakashi-sensei!" she finally called, tearing her eyes away from the pale boy in front of her, ignoring her heart pounding viciously.

Rapidly she slid off the stool, as Kakashi entered the kitchen, beaming. "Oh, was I interrupting something?' he blinked, glancing back and forth between the two youngsters.

Hinata felt her face turn a deep shade of red. "N-n-nani? No. I-I should go." She added, slipping past him into the sitting room, hands trembling.

"Nani? You can stick around for dinner if you want, after all you made it. It's quite late two, quarter to seven, the sun's gone down completely."

"N-no, it's fine, I should get home, m-my cousin-" she froze, half way through putting on her jacket.

Oh no… I completely forgot about Neji!!

"Gomen, Kakashi-sensei, I gotta go!! B-bye!" she gasped, bolting out the door before Kakashi could say anything at all.

"…hm." He hummed, turning around to peek at Sasuke just as his puzzled expression slid back to his usually stoic one.

"What happened?" Kakashi blinked, praying to God that the boy would actually say something useful.

"I don't know what you mean."

Kakashi sighed. He really should pray for things that didn't involve several miracles at once.


Yay

I enjoyed this one a lot more than the previous one. It came together with a lot more ease, in just over an hour! I do think I didn't work on it half as much as I usually do, but it just felt like it did it's job. I was going to make it longer, but I think I need more material to make sure the chapters go over the double digits.

Please leave me some love! I've got my mojo back!

-inky